Epaper_24-04-8 KHI

bers of the Committee

ronmental Coordination has issued a detailed notification explaining the context, mandate, terms of reference (TORs) and list of the mem-

The committee will be chaired by the Deputy Chairman Planning Commission that comprised of government officials parliamentarians representatives from civil society and environment NGOs private sector research institutes, and expert/advisors with knowledge on specific topics The members are Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan (chair) Coordinator to PM on Climate Change Roinina Khurshid Alam Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq MNA Bilal Kiyani Executive Director SDPI, Dr Abid Suleri, Kashmala Kakakhel Climate Finance Expert, Rizwan Mehboob, Cli-

mate Expert, Ali Tauqir Sheikh Climate Expert, Ahsan Kamran Climate Finance Expert, Nadia Rehman Member CC PC Secretary MoCC&EC (Secretary of the Committee) Secretary Ministry of Commerce Secretary MoPDSI and Secretary Ministry of EA and Additional Secretary (EF) Ministry of Finance The Committee will suggest approach that involves mainstreaming climate considerations across all government organizations and operations as well as integrating them into the development agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Energy Ministr y seeks Rs48b to tackle CPEC dues

g China has conditioned provision of $600m in new loans on Pakistan's commitment to settle energy dues

Police to get rid of bandits from katcha area soon, says IG Sindh police

while

being

said several

notice of

said

girl Priya Kumari, daughter of Raju Mal, recently ordered formation of a joint investigation team (JIT) to rescue the girl The JIT headed by Mirpur Khas DIG Javed Jaskani The other members of the team are Hyderabad SSP Amjad Sheikh Shaheed Benazirabad SSP Tanveer Tannu and two DSPs Chairman TJP, Chinese envoy discuss growing Indian terrorism in Pakistan ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t Chairman Tehreek-e-Jawanaan Pakistan (TJP) Mohammad Abdullah Hamid Gul held a detailed meeting with the Chinese Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Jiang Zaidong on Sunday and discussed important issues mainly growing terrorism of India in Pakistan and the world According to a statement received here Abdullah Gul said “On this occasion how the defense minister of India is admitting the massacre in Pakistan Despite this no international peace organization has taken notice of it The TJP Chairman declared the negligence of global community tantamount to permitting a license for

Mobile phone prices slashed in Pakistan ahead of Eid festivities

MU C H hope is being placed on the IT sector by those who should know better The government is hoping to raise IT exports to $28 billion in the next five years, and are evidently placing IT in their minds as the new textiles now that it seems they are losing much of their punch, as cheaper exports from Bangladesh make it no longer possible for them to be the driver of Pakistan’s exports The only problem seems to be that IT start-ups seem to be running out of steam, or rather money, because the venture capital that funded them is hanging shy, to the extent that in the first quarter of the current fiscal year there was literally no funding made That is not comparative, where you have a million instead of a billion There is not even a trickle There is none Had the writing been on the wall? It could be argued that it had In 2023, venture capital had gone down 77 percent to $76 million while the number of deals were down almost 42 percent to 39 Obviously, it was in trouble virtually before it was born

One of the major factors was supposed to be political stability That has been achieved to the extent that elections have been held and a new political dispensation is in place but the fact that there are still question marks over the fairness of the election has prevented stability from being achieved in the true sense of the word However, PMs do not have to write code In fact none of the holders of the job, nor the possibilities of the future, are remotely qualified for that particular task

IT is on the threshold of a new revolution Apart from artificial intelligence and virtual reality, which will change drastically how people interact with the world, there is also a revolution happening in fintech, as people move away from notes and coins, and carry out transactions virtually There are two factors they government must remember if it wants IT to be a profit centre: the local market must be made happy before exports are feasible, and the facilities the government is supposed to provide (enough power good internet connectivity) it must provide Being stable is not enough

to disrupt the CPEC project it might affect PakChina friendship because the country has long been cooperating with Pakistan on countless occasions

is once again caught in the fragility trap The attack on a naval base by the Baloch insurgents is not the first of its kind There have been various cases of insurgent attacks on the Gwadar Port and the CPEC sites– including last year s ambush on the convoy of Chinese engineers The perpetrators undeniably want to disrupt Pak-China relations in the economic realm A recent report reveals that Chinese companies have temporarily suspended work on the Dasu and Daimer-Basha Dams, following the deadly attack on Chinese engineers Most Pakistani leaders refer to Pak-China friendship as ‘Deeper than ocean and sweeter than honey However a good friendship requires effort from both sides– it is a two-way process From Pakistan s side, there seems to be less development done in this regard Finding a great ally in the international system is very hard– thanks to Chinese diplomacy, Pakistan still enjoys peaceful relations with the country To secure its political objectives China wants the security of its economic projects and hence peaceful relations with other states Being a firm believer in diplomacy the economic giant would never like to halt relations with Pakistan However, if terrorist elements continue

While some might see it as an institutional failure, things in Pakistan are so muddy and complex The majority of Pakistan’s population is religiously driven due to the fact that it is an ‘ISLAMIC Republic of Pakistan’ People seem to be less conforming to Quaid-e-Azam s principle which is summarized as keep your religion at home Unfortunately people become highly sensitive in terms of religion and violently react to religious sentiments– in a way they try to impose religion on others And that is perhaps the reason why terrorists conduct such heinous crimes, they are brainwashed into believing that they are doing it for a good cause Terrorist activities not only cause a sense of insecurity among the populace but also dampen the economic growth of the country The PML(N) government is expected to pave the way for economic growth given the harsh conditions of Pakistan’s GDP The country’s economic debt is at an all-time high and by November 2024 the government has to repay $19 71 billion to the IMF And it remains unsure whether the government will be able to execute its plan successfully in the presence of security issues

Nevertheless, the main culprits behind terrorist attacks remain anonymous, but whoever is conducting such activities, does not want Pakistan to stand on its feet

There is a famous saying, „If you cannot run from it, embrace it‰– one thing is for sure, Pakistan is not going anywhere without bringing an end to terrorism. The state must tighten its security, particularly on the Afghan border and in Balochistan and KP. Due to the menace of terrorism, the whole nation gets into a feeling of insecurity and distress.

ployments would not only exacerbate the world s nuclear arms race by strengthening plans for worst-case

reflect the values of responsible nuclear power The greater concern than the possibility of nuclear conflict is India s reckless actions as a nuclear state in its quest for prestige India still hasn’t proven to be a trustworthy US ally even with backing and exemptions from the USA and the West

Due to the missiles potential to carry nuclear warheads and be able to reach beyond Pakistan and China to target other parts of the world, India’s possession of nuclear-capable long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) is a major source of instability in the region and beyond India s military buildups threaten strategic stability in South Asia and raise the possibility of nuclear escalation outside the region a threat that the USA and its allies must realize Along with this, it appears much more risky than our existing geostrategic environment to live in a world where almost all nuclear-armed nations have significant MIRV capacity This is because MIRVs have the potential to be both attractive first-strike targets and highly devastating first-strike weapons due to their tremendous destructive capabilities Widespread MIRV de-

In the light of IndiaÊs recent modernization of its nuclear forces and the implications for IndiaÊs shift from a counter-value to a counter-force strategy, Pakistan is looking into low-cost ways to maintain the dependability and durability of its nuclear forces while adhering strictly to its Full Spectrum Deterrence policy under the principle of Credible Minimum Deterrence .

autonomy recent terrorist attacks in Pakistan underscore the threat to Chinese workers and infrastructure in the country, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to sway voters in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu”

Janata Party made the 285-acre (115-hectare) island an election campaign issue by accusing the opposition Congress party of having callously given it away The BJP seeks to make election inroads in the coastal state of Tamil Nadu facing the island after failing to win any of the southern state s 39 seats in India s 545-member parliament in the last election

It said: Tamil Nadu goes to the polls on April 19 in the first of seven rounds of voting set to end on June 1, India ceded the island to Sri Lanka in 1974, followed by the pact on the fishermen in 1976 but unhappiness over the transfer and the abridged rights spurred two as yet unresolved Supreme Court challenges in the last 20 years

Reuters added: On Monday, [April 1, 2024] Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said Sri Lanka had detained more than 6,000 Indian fishermen and 1 175 fishing vessels over the last 20 years following the no-fishing pact In this respect Foreign Policy Com reported in an article on April 3 this year: Sri Lanka showcases its own brand of strategic

N o S o u t h A s i a n c o u n t r y c a n a c c e p t I n d i a Ês m o n o p o ly u n d e r a ny c i rc u m s t a n c e s B u t ex t r e m i s t P M M o

t

g i o n U n d o u b t e d ly, N a r e n d r a

d i h a s s t a r

e d u s i n g cl ev e r t a c t i c s t o i n c r e a s e h i s p o p u l a r i t y a s t h e e l e c t i o n a p p ro a ch e s H e n c e , S r i L a n k a h a s b e c o m e a t a rg e t o f M o d i Ês u n j u s t i f i e d s h r ew d d i p l o m a cy

It elaborated: Most South Asian governments tend to have non-aligned foreign policies including Sri Lanka balancing their relations with major powers This maximizes their diplomatic flexibility and ability to operate independently on the world stage, also known as strategic autonomy”

It further wrote: “Meanwhile Sri Lanka has strengthened economic ties with China and already hosts many large Chinese infrastructure projects Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has also embraced Beijing’s position on key issues, including the AUKUS security alliance between Australia the United States and the United Kingdom Sri Lanka s actions may be driven by a commitment to strategic autonomy but its motivations are as much about practicality as principle The country is emerging from an acute economic crisis, and it needs as much financial assistance as it can get It’s easier to achieve that goal when it works with all the major powers”

F O R E I G N P O L I C Y C O M M A I NTA I N E D: South Asia has become a battleground for geopolitical rivalry, which puts pressure on the region s nonaligned governments to take sides But to this point, Sri Lanka has navigated this state of affairs successfully demonstrating the capacity of states in the global south to reinforce multipolarity in the current world order

In this context under the title: India and China s Tug of War Over Sri Lanka-India sets out to check China s efforts to turn the island into a maritime hub on its “Belt and Road, The Diplomat Com indicated: “In recent years Beijing has invested heavily in Sri Lanka s infrastructure as part of its string of pearls policy aimed at establishing a naval presence across South Asia by building ports and other facilities in friendly countries, including Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar The expansion is part of its “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR) project a new trade route linking China with the West underpinned by billions of dollars of infrastructure investment India has been looking on nervously concerned that China is encroaching on its sphere of influence and eroding its commercial and cultural links with the island, some of whose Tamil minority are descendants of

ious welfare schemes Kejriwal used several mechanisms, such as the Right to Information Act (enacted by the Delhi Congress government) to fight corruption that the average person faced most commonly in the electricity departments and to prevent the privatization of water in the capital city

Kejriwal thus became known as an anti-corruption crusader He resigned his government job in 2006, and was given the Ramon Magsaysay award for integrity in governance and service to people He used the prize money to start the Public Cause Research Foundation an institutional foundation for his anti-corruption work

Prominent among his efforts was a campaign against corruption in the organizing of the Commonwealth Games of 2010, which became etched in the public mind after a bridge-roof collapse at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium due to shoddy work Then-CM Sheila Dixit was beleaguered by allegations of corruption against her government and it led to her losing power a few years later

A LONER BECOMES

A LEADER: In 2011 he joined with like-minded anti-corruption activists, such as eminent lawyer Prashant Bhushan, former police officer Kiran Bedi, and grassroots organizer Anna Hazare, to form India Against Corruption (IAC) and their main demand of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was the enactment of the Jan Lokpal Bill – to have a public ombudsman look into allegations of corruption (rather than a government-controlled agency like the Central Bureau of Investigation)

Coinciding with protests over the ghastly rape-murder of a medical student in Delhi, the IAC protests gained momentum and large crowds marking a low point for PM Singh who had to promise to put forward the Jan Lokpal Bill in parliament

There were people who were not convinced by the IAC movement Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy accused Kejriwal of funding his movement with money from the Ford Foundation, which the latter denied She and others also claimed the IAC was run by the BJP’s parent outfit the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh whose larger goal was to dislodge the Congress using the anticorruption campaign Incidentally, after the 2011 movement ended, some IAC members such as Kiran Bedi joined the BJP; natural remedies baron Baba Ramdev became a prominent supporter of the BJP; and Anna Hazare was silent on allegations of corruption during the next dozen years –waking up briefly only after Kejriwal s arrest Kejriwal continued the Lokpal Bill protest in 2012 as the government backtracked on its promise And then he launched a political party – the AAP The next year, Delhi legislative elections were held, and the AAP won enough seats to form a minority government Kejriwal who had contested Sheila Dixit in her constituency defeated her He was elected CM by his party

But the minority government lasted only a year and when elections were held in 2015 the AAP won a stunning 67 out of 70 seats His has been a popular government on several fronts: He set up mohalla clinics (primary health centers) through the city; he gave a facelift to government schools, much to the relief of middle-class parents who could not afford private schools; he made electricity free up to a

colonial-era indentured workers from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu Sri Lanka’s current President Maithripala Sirisena has sought to rebalance relations with the competing regional powers reaching out to New Delhi with Modi keen to reciprocate

I T F U RT H E R P O I N T E D

It elaborated: „Most South Asian governments tend to have non-aligned foreign policies, including Sri Lanka, balancing their relations with major powers This maximizes their diplomatic flexibility and ability to operate independently on the world stage, also known as strategic autonomy‰.

For traditional Delhi politics the AAP was an upstart; the Congress and the BJP had always dominated the city s political landscape until Kejriwal landed on the scene

Since then, with the BJP ruling the central government in Delhi, it is no wonder that all their political aggression is directed towards Kejriwal and not the Congress

has had a running dispute over the division of power with the lieutenant-governor of Delhi appointed by the central government (a holdover from when Delhi was not a state but directly run by the central government s Home Ministry) The Delhi police are under the Home Ministry, so the AAP government is powerless in all law-and-order matters Plus, the police have likely been deployed against AAP workers more times than against other opposition workers Things came to a head when the ED filed a corruption case against the former anti-corruption activist It related to the Delhi Excise Policy, which was changed in 2021; previously all liquor shops were run by the state government, but they were not well-spread geographically, and high prices resulted in consumers buying liquor from Haryana The government decided to privatize the liquor trade and tax it The ED s case is that the government favored private players from some southern Indian states in return for bribes, some of which were then used by the AAP for the Goa state elections There has not been any documentary evidence to support it; the case rests on the testimony of former aides and traders from the south – who later either joined the BJP or bought electoral bonds favoring the BJP

Biden’s Afghanistan debacle worse than originally known

In fac t, vir tually ever y a sser tion the president made that day proved to be disa strously wrong

G aza’s Al-Shifa hospital in ruins af ter

6 months of Israeli attacks: WHO

ian aid at the scale that is needed the UN health agency said The destruction of Al-Shifa Hospital and Nasser Medical Complex in the southern city of Khan

Modi gov t promoted unemployment , economic crisis in last 10 years: Sonia

it

WHO s efforts to reach the hospital to evacuate patients and staff and conduct an assessment, were denied, delayed or impeded six times between 25 March and 1 April Like the majority of the north AlShifa Hospital “is now an empty shell after the latest siege said WHO with no patients remaining at the facility Most of the buildings are extensively damaged or destroyed and the majority of equipment is unusable or reduced to ashes ” The WHO team said that the scale of devastation has left the facility completely non-functional further reducing access to life-saving healthcare in Gaza Restoring even minimal functionality in the short term seems implausible and will require substantial efforts to assess and clear the grounds for unexploded ordnance to ensure safety and accessibility”

said WHO The hospital’s emergency department, surgical, and maternity ward buildings are extensively damaged due to explosives and fire At least 115 beds in what once was the emergency department have been burnt and 14 incubators in the NICU destroyed, among other assets An in-depth assessment by a team of engineers is needed to determine if these buildings can be made safe for future use The hospital’s oxygen plant has been destroyed leaving Kamal Adwan Hospital as the only source of medical oxygen production in the north Further comprehensive assessment is essential to evaluate the functionality of vital equipment such as CT scanners, ventilators, sterilization devices and surgical equip Numerous shallow graves have been dug just outside the emergency department and the administrative and surgical build-

ings, WHO said “In the same area, many dead bodies were partially buried with their limbs visible During the visit WHO staff witnessed at least five bodies lying partially covered on the ground exposed to the heat with a pungent smell of decomposing bodies engulfing the hospital compound Safeguarding dignity, even in death, is an indispensable act of humanity” the agency added

According to the acting Hospital Director patients were held in abysmal conditions during the siege They endured severe lack of food, water, healthcare, hygiene and sanitation, and were forced to relocate between buildings at gunpoint At least 20 patients have reportedly died due to the lack of access to care and limited movement authorized for health personnel Despite deconfliction Friday s mis-

As

marks

under the

Day on

My health my right this basic right is utterly out of reach for

of

said the agency A c c e s s t o h e

l t h c a r e i n G a z a h a s b e c o m e t o t a l l y i n a d e q u a t e , and the ability of WHO and partners to h e l p i s c o n s t a n t l y d i s r u p t e d a n d i mpeded Of the 36 main hospitals that used to serve over two million Gazans o n l y 1 0 r e m a i n s o m e w h a t f u n c t i o n a l with severe limitations on the types of services they can deliver

Restric tions on religious freedom in Occ upied K ashmir condemnable: Raza

Yellen, Premier Li express hope for US - C hina cooperation

at a time when the economic activity is slowing down As the oil prices have been increased and power tariff has gone up further the PIAF chairman stated that the government has dropped a fuel bomb on the businessmen after it suffered an electric shock to meet the conditions of IMF for the revival of the stalled loan program- a recipe to shake the trade and industry He said that the decision would prove detrimental to the industries due to high cost of doing business and will also open the floodgates of inflation In addition to making the electricity bills costlier and unaffordable for the consumers the hike in base tariff would escalate prices of all household goods being widely used in every household he added Faheem Saigol urged the power ministry to identify system constraints and communicate targets to all concerned departments in order to launch a wartime effort to upgrade the transmission system He urged the completion of all ongoing power projects well ahead of schedule He stated that

MoU signing marks milestone collaboration between RUDA & CMEC

s ta f f r e p o r t The Punjab Central Business Development Association (PCBDA) and the Ravi Urban Development Authority (RUDA) have forged a historic partnership, culminating in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) in Shanghai The MoU signifies a significant step forward in bilateral cooperation, fostering a robust alliance between Pakistani and Chinese entities in the domains of infrastructure development engineering energy hospitality housing environment telecom and sustainability

During the ceremony, key representatives from both RUDA and CMEC articulated their commitment to advancing collaborative initiatives aimed at enhancing economic prosperity and sustainable development in Pakistan

ment to transparency, accountability, and mutual benefit, laying the groundwork for fruitful collaboration in the months and years ahead

expressed confidence in the ability of the partnership to drive tangible outcomes, citing the successful track record of CMEC's investments in Pakistan on Thar Coal Plant/Engro robust project portfolio presented by the Pakistani counterparts The MoU outlines a framework for cooperation, encompassing the exchange of detailed project information, the exploration of financing mechanisms and the coordination of future delegation visits It reflects a shared commit-

Fatima Ali Khan Director BD & IR at RUDA echoed these sentiments stating The MoU represents a tangible manifestation of our shared vision for sustainable development By pooling our resources and expertise, we can overcome challenges and seize opportunities for the benefit of our communities

The ceremony concluded with a sense of optimism and determination to translate the commitments outlined in the MoU into concrete actions that will drive positive change and leave a lasting legacy of cooperation and friendship between Pakistan and China

ISLAMABAD s ta f f r e p o r t

The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and industry (ICCI) and Intelligence Bureau Employees Cooperative Housing Society (IBECHS) have reached consensus to construct a state of the art Expo Centre in Gulberg Green

The two sides also decided to join hands in terms of national development promotion of exports social and cultural events

The consensus in this connection was developed during visit of delegation of ICCI under the leadership of its President Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari to the Gulberg Green head Office to felicitate its management

At the outset President ICCI Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari while extending heartfelt congratulations to the management said that Intelligence Bureau Employee's Cooperative Housing Society (IBECHS) is playing an important role in catering the shelter needs of the IB employees as well as others

He said that the ICCI was willing to coordinate with the IBECHS for joint ventures aiming to attract foreign investment saying that Islamabad was the most important diplomatic governmental parliamentary and commercial hub, but still lacks the facility of a splendid expo center and we wish to establish this Expo Center in Gulbarg Green, which was located at the most important juncture of the twin cities Ahsan Zafar further stated that the partnership between ICCI and Gulberg Green for the Expo Centre will be a step in the right direction to improve the economy as this permanent facility would showcase the exportable products of Pakistan and boost exports He said that many countries including China and Turkey have increased their exports and tourism by organizing

Talking to APP they opined that the interaction between human health and environmental hazards has been extensively interlinked which was repeatedly researched and studied on the latest scientific methods For many of the world s poor segments, adaptation to climate change is not a choice but a bitter reality

Existing evidence suggests that the poor, particularly those in the developing world are the most vulnerable to any changes in climate variability and change

Experts in various findings have examined the myriad ways in which climate change adaptation policies and strategies are developed, and they systematically discuss the factors which either facilitate or hamper the

Tarar rebuts Imran’s allegations about Toshak hana reference implication

granted him protective bail

2 terrorists killed in Nor th Waziristan fire exchange: ISPR

RAWALPINDI S ta f f R e p o R t

Two terrorists were killed in the exchange of fire with security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan district the military’s media affairs wing said on Sunday A press release from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that the fire exchange took place between terrorists and security forces last night Own troops effectively engaged the terrorists location as a result of which two terrorists were sent to hell Weapons and explosives were also recovered from them,” it said “Weapons and explosives were also recovered from them ” it said “Sanitisation operation is being conducted to eliminate any other terrorist found in the area as the security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country it said A day earlier, security forces killed 10 terrorists in two operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Meanwhile, two terrorists were killed in an intelligence-based operation in Balochistan’s Panjgur district Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities especially in KP and Balochistan after the banned militant Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022 According to a security report recently issued by the Centre for Research and Security Studies, Pakistan witnessed 432 violence-linked fatalities and 370 injuries among civilians, security personnel, and outlaws, resulting from as many as 245 incidents of terror attacks and counter-terror operations during the first quarter of 2024

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

In a recent development Governor Punjab Balighur Rehman accepted the resignation of Michael A Thompson, principal of Aitchison College Lahore Sources at the Governor ’s House revealed that Amina Imran has been appointed as the acting principal of Aitchison College in place of Michael A Thompson The Governor of Punjab has also approved the fee waiver policy, according to which if a student moves to another city he will get a fee waiver of up to 50 percent for up to 3 years

This policy was spearheaded by the wife of Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Cheems whose two sons were having to move to Islamabad The fee waiver was denied by Thomson but the Governor Punjab intervened and unilaterally approved it and changed the school s policy as well, without any approval from the BoG

This was followed by the principal of Aitchison College informing the staff of his resignation through a letter, saying that the biased actions of the Governor ’s House had damaged the governance and management of the school

Michael A Thompson added in the letter that there is no room for politics and nepotism in the school, and will not play any role in management and admissions after April 1 On the other hand Governor Punjab Balighur Rehman strongly denied the allegations made by

Principal Aitchison College and said that Michael A Thompson was receiving a salary of 4 million, which has been audited He further said that Principal Aitchison College used to take more than 100 vacations in a year this tactic has been adopted by Principal Aitchison College to avoid inquiries Aitchison College s Board of Governors (BoG) had earlier accepted the resignation of Principal Michael A Thompson and appointed Amina Kamran as the college s acting principal

B esham attack: Vehicle transpor ting Chinese nationals was not bullet, bomb -proof A i tc